Invasion: Alaska

glass.

“I thought I told you—” the guard in the visitor room said.

“Sorry,” Stan said. “I won’t do it again.”

“If you do,” the guard said, “you ain’t coming back. Got it?”

Stan’s eyes narrowed. It made his dad give him a questioning look. Shaking his phone, trying to forget about the guard, Stan mouthed, “Pick up your phone.”

It must have worked, because Mack did.

“Hello, Dad,” Stan said.

“Son?”

“Are you all right?”

Mack scowled. “They’re poisoning me with drugs that are ruining my thinking. The aliens must be trying to erase my memory.”

“Has anyone hit you?” Stan asked.

Mack touched his side. “A few times.” A slow grin worked onto his face. “But I fought back.”

Stan wanted to groan.

Mack put a hand on the glass. Two of the fingernails were cracked and black underneath. “Is it true the aliens are about to invade?”

“Do you mean the Chinese?”

“Not them, but the aliens—the ones pulling the Chinese strings.”

“The Chinese blew up two of our carriers in San Francisco,” Stan said. “Have you heard about that?”

Mack nodded. “They’re a clever and treacherous people. We must nuke them as MacArthur said. Son, if they’re coming for Alaska, they’ll hit Anchorage sooner or later.”

Stan nodded. His wife and kids had tried to get out at the airport, but couldn’t. And all the boats were full. All the cruise ships had long since left, and they were closing the highways.

“The Chinese will send paratroopers to grab the airport,” Mack said.

“That seems like a logical move,” Stan said. He’d taken out a map yesterday, figuring out what he’d do if he were the enemy. “If the Chinese control metropolitan Anchorage, they’ve conquered half the population, grabbed the most important ports and the critical airport. It seems like it would be easy from there to rush to the main passes. Then they could bottle up the rest of Alaska and set up defensive positions into Canada, making it nearly impossible for reinforcements arriving from British Columbia or the Yukon.”

“Let me out of here to help you,” Mack said. “I can lead a counter-terrorist squad. We’ll sweep the Federal government buildings of alien sympathizers.”

Stan winced. If they’re recording this, my dad is toast. They might send recordings like those to Homeland Security. They’d be sure to kick me out of the National Guard then.

“Dad, listen to me. I want you…to fool the aliens.”

“What do you know?”

“I think they’re monitoring the phones,” Stan said. “You need to confuse the sympathizers by acting as peaceful as possible.”

Mack squeezed his phone as he stared at Stan. “No! They know who I am. They’re trying to break my will by having psychologists convince me I’m crazy.” Mack laughed. “Besides us two, the aliens have bamboozled nearly everyone else.”

That’s the definition of insane: when you believe you’re the only one who’s sane.

“I know what you mean,” Stan said. “But listen, try to pretend. Go along with them for a little while until I can spring you.”

Mack shoulders straightened. “Are you talking about a jailbreak?”

Stan put a finger in front of his mouth. Then he pointed at the guard. His father nodded in a knowing way.

“I understand,” Mack said.

“Good. Dad, they’ve activated the National Guard. I…I might not be able to visit you tomorrow or for the next few days.”

A look of bewilderment came over Mack Higgins. He swallowed so his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “I understand,” he whispered.

He’s scared. They have him good and scared.

“I’ll come by as soon as I can,” Stan said quickly.

Mack looked away as he lowered the receiver. His grip tightened. When he looked back, his eyes were moist. Lifting the receiver, he said, “You’re driving a tank, right?”

“One of the heavies,” said Stan.

“The Chinese are going to be coming for you,” Mack said. “Your Abrams tanks are old, but they’re the heaviest tanks we have in Alaska.”

More like the onlytanks we have in Alaska. It wasn’t completely true, but it was close enough to make it frightening. Yeah, Stan knew his company would be a primary military target.

“Don’t do anything foolish,” Mack said. “Conserve our armor. Make the Chinese play out against our infantry. Try to plug them up in the streets.”

“We’re not going to let the Chinese into Anchorage,” Stan said. “I can guarantee you that.”

Garcia had told him they were already mining Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound. The National Guard and U.S. Army were also rushing artillery and mortar-teams to Anchorage. The idea was to make the Chinese attack through the Kenai Peninsula if they wanted to reach Anchorage. That was infantry country, especially with the mountains in the Kenai Fjords National Park and the Exit Glacier west of Seward.

Mack was shaking his head. “That’s foolish talk. You need to use Anchorage as a trap. Hold back your Abrams. Have the people throw Molotov cocktails on the enemy’s engine hoods and use rocket launchers against their armor. Your Abrams are an ace. Only use them to win the game: the Battle for Anchorage. Do you understand me?”

Stan looked at his dad. The old man remembered small-arms tactics but could no longer see the operational picture. Stan nodded. “I do, Colonel Higgins. You’re saying this is going to be a slugfest.”

“The Chinese don’t mind taking losses. America learned that in Korea.”

“The Korean War ended almost eighty years ago,” said Stan.

“National habits don’t change much,” said Mack. “As a history teacher you should know that.”

“Sure, I know it.”

“They’re going to try to grab Alaska fast, doing it the hard way: straightforward with a lightning strike of armor, paratroopers and sleeper units.”

Alaska was twice the size of Texas, with vast mountain ranges, virgin forests and ice. It had more coastline than the rest of the continental United States combined. Stan couldn’t see how the Chinese could conquer the state quickly. They’d need to hit other places simultaneously do to that.

Stan was curious. “How do you know all this, sir?”

“It’s military common sense. They’ll want to grab our state before the President can send the heavy stuff up through British Columbia. Once they own Alaska, the Chinese will hold the people hostage for our country’s good behavior. So you have to drive the Chinese out of Anchorage, once you’ve suckered them into a Stalingrad here.”

“The Chinese haven’t even made it here, Dad. Our submarines and fighters will probably stop them before they can try a D-Day operation against the city.”

“Don’t fool yourself. The Chinese will be here. They have to if they’re going to conquer Alaska. Remember, they’ll hit hard and fast. Absorb the first blow by covering up. See what they have, but stay well away from the big guns on their battleships.”

“Do the Chinese even have battleships?” Stan asked. Those were vintage World War Two weapons.

Mack shook his head. “I don’t know about the battleships. The aliens might have built them some. What I’m saying, son, is that this is going to be a hell of a fight. Save your tanks for the end, or we’ll lose. Do I make myself clear?”